


Shall Set You Free

by Tieleen



Category: White Collar
Genre: Character of Color, Collection: Purimgifts Day 2, Gen, Gen Fic
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2010-02-23
Updated: 2010-02-23
Packaged: 2017-10-07 12:23:43
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 456
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/65126
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Tieleen/pseuds/Tieleen
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>The first time her mother met Byron, she didn't like him. Or, that's not quite true; everyone liked Byron. But she didn't like him coming around.</p><p>"I don't trust the way he smiles, baby," she said. "This boy will lie to you."</p>
            </blockquote>





	Shall Set You Free

**Author's Note:**

  * For [zvi](https://archiveofourown.org/users/zvi/gifts).



> Images from [here](http://whitecollaronline.net), and yes, they absolutely deserve better than my 80's-themed artistic skillz.
> 
> Happy Purim!
> 
> Many thanks to themegaloo for the helpful and ultra-quick beta.

The first time her mother met Byron, she didn't like him. Or, that's not quite true; everyone liked Byron. But she didn't like him coming around.

"I don't trust the way he smiles, baby," she said. "This boy will lie to you."

And she was right, of course, because Byron's smile, if you knew just how to look, said he'd lie to you and that you would be glad to believe it. He wasn't so good at it yet as he would be later, when he'd learn how to smudge the perfect edges until you couldn't see them no matter how hard you looked.

June is glad for that; later, she could see behind that smile because she knew him, knew it, but back then, she could only see behind it because not all the chinks were polished off yet, and that was the only way she knew he'd only ever lie to her if he was sure she knew better than to buy it.

Now she's grown, of course, now that she's seen a few things, she knows how easily that could had been another game, another face, and that she's only lucky it was his real one. That girl back when thought she knew it all, thought no bullshit could deceive her, and June – now that she really does know it all, of course – has to look back and laugh at how instinct or good luck managed to land her on something true in the most unlikely of places.

She's fond of unlikely places, now. She does like people who tell the truth, plain and straight, but she likes the ones who tell it twisted up, too – and especially the ones who have truth poking out from the sides and at the center, blaring loudly from every word, who, instead of learning how to cover up too much charm, learned to crank it up until they could hide behind it, or until it became its own truth.

It feels nice not to let all of Byron's suits go to strangers, to know they get all the love they deserve. Neal is a wonderful boy, and June can tell, right from the start, right when he tries to sell her his charm and then laughs when he sees she isn't buying, that he could be family. But she has to admit to herself that most of all, it's the look he gives her then that does it - because the laughter isn't the start of another line; he sees that she sees, and she can tell (she, who's an old, wise lady who knows everything,) that this is another person who would never lie to her again without the grace to make sure she knew better.  


* * *

  


  



End file.
